But that was before he unseated Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., in November. Before 20-hour days juggling committee hearings, constituent meetings and floor votes.

Before the attack that wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and 12 others and killed six people.

Before the largest wildfire on record in Arizona history burned more than a half-million acres in Gosar's district and before the nation went to the brink of default for the first time.

While it's been a challenging start, Gosar said he's satisfied so far.

"The work we told our people was going to get done, we've done," he said.

His office this month issued a news release calling Gosar "one of the five most-active and accomplished freshmen" in Congress, citing the number of bills he sponsored, the number of constituent letters written and the number of town-hall meetings he held.

Not everyone agrees.

"If people on the street were asked, 'What has Paul Gosar done for you lately?' I don't think people in northern Arizona would be able to answer that very well," said Jacqueline Vaughn, a Northern Arizona University professor of politics and international affairs.

Vaughn gives Gosar a C- for what she calls a limited agenda. She said he has made fewer appearances in his hometown than voters might expect. Gosar visited Flagstaff eight times in 13 trips to Arizona this year. Much of his district time was taken up by the Wallow Fire.

Andy Roth of the Club for Growth, a conservative lobbying group, also thinks that merits only a passing grade.

"Maybe he's just a freshman who's trying to get his feet wet - and that's fine - but there's a lot of other freshmen out there who are moving at full speed," said Roth, vice president of government affairs for the group.

Gosar hasn't been sitting on his hands. He sponsored eight bills - including two that had stalled in the previous Congress.

His most-noticeable legislation has been the Southeast Arizona Land Exchange and Conservation Act. His is the 10th version of a bill that would allow the government and Resolution Copper to swap thousands of acres of land, and his is the first to get out of a House committee.

In terms of his voting record, Roth said Gosar is "not as conservative as his colleagues in the Arizona delegation."

Gosar was the only Arizona Republican to support the recently passed debt-limit deal.

Gosar calls that bipartisanship; Roth says it shows the ideological gap between Gosar and other Arizona Republicans. He said Gosar's debt-ceiling vote negates the "tea party" label that helped him unseat Kirkpatrick. Keeping that support could be key for Gosar as Kirkpatrick seeks to get her old job back.

Gosar, who was endorsed by Sarah Palin in 2010, would welcome the tea-party label again.